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Well, it's been a while. I have been busy typing up my book from the binder to the computer. I remember when I first came on here people thought I was trying to rock the boat or be disruptive, at least some did, but the reality is that I'm a little too old to play games and I've lived a pretty interesting life that hasn't allowed for too many idle fantasies about what was going on around me.

Yes, I did say that Chiaki was a sinking star and so far I have not been proven wrong. I found and still find it funny when people talk about the differences between Japanese Entertainment and American Entertainment, the obvious omissions. I've learned a lot over these two years and I don't mince words when the truth becomes obvious.

One complaint was that she would get lazy like American actresses, which was and still is another blatant, slanted, few. It is amazing when you start to learn that American actresses are not owned by their Media Agency, they own the Media Rep, not the other way around. In Japan it's reversed, the entertainer is at the beck-and-call of the Media Agency/Entertainment Agency.

That doesn't include the costs of living difference in America and Japan, the value of the Yen versus the Dollar and a few other things that are actually a much bigger factor in something as simple as Chiaki's roles in movies, TV, etc.

I have an interview where she stated that she dreamed of being "discovered" in the West and that would make her happy, but now that I have gathered more information, I can see why she considered it a dream. I can see why she hasn't really learned English, it goes with her dream. To me, it probably seems like an impossible and unattainable dream anyway, so why bother?

I meant what I said when I came here. I said I was writing a book, I've finished the writing and now I am typing it all up and I've already gotten some offers, but I need one thing first and I'm working on that now. I meant what I said when I challenged Kenji, that if he is a writer then why not write roles, create things, that would help her out and give her a chance to do things differently and that seemed not only foreign to Kenji, but it seemed scary to make a commitment, a REAL commitment, to make a difference in someone else's life. It's far easier to fantasize, then it is to actually get up, get out and do something about it or at LEAST make an honest attempt and do the best you can.

I enjoy Chiaki's acting and I think she has actual talent, talent that goes beyond Japan, but I don't believe that it ever will, especially once I learned a bit more about the Japanese entertainment industry as compared to a Western one, so I've pasted one of the articles to show you why I understand why she may have said it was a dream of hers and why I don't think she believes it is possible.

Luckily for me, I've found out that I can actually turn my dreams into reality and all I have to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other. As for the Iraqi War and the List, I come from a family of military service, when I was 10, 11 and 12 I was learning and preparing for the day that I would go into the military. Along the way I learned the reality of being in the military and how piss-poor decisions by the polititians can put the military in a position that they cannot possibly win.

Those involved in the Iraqi "Freedom" Operation, as far as the polititians that pushed for this. They were never interested in helping the people of Iraq, especially since the primary powers involved are the historical ones who put the Sunni in charge of the country and eventually brought Saddam to power. I have a brother who did three tours in Tikrit and I have friends who have survived, for the most part. All of them have said that they are glad I did not join, because I would have been discharged and ridiculed to no end for speaking out against an obvious snatch and grab at oil, where the welfare of people who have suffered under embargo and sanction, STILL isn't addressed.

I call a spade a spade. When the military is deployed for immoral justification, then that military will lose, because after a while, it won't be able to identify its enemies or its objectives. Morale will suffer and ultimately the truth will come out, one way or another. Enough on that for now, because the coalition had too many people involved that were looking to finally make good with the US or UK as well as try to profit from the deals of rebuilding the infrastructure and of course, pilfering the oil.

Anyone with history of the region knows or would know, that the Shiites are the majority and just like the pathetic attempt to tell the Palastinians to do things the American way. You can't get bent out of shape when the people voice an opinion that you don't like and vote for people that have protected and served them, in their eyes, but have been a thorn in yours. Either go in and get your hands dirty, turn up the Imperial March and seize the place and make no mistake that you are NOT there to help anyone but yourself.

Or do what you said, ,make sure provisions for food, water, restoration of power, security, is planned out. Get in. Remove the Dictator, reestablish basic infrastructure from DAY ONE and then GET THE HELL OUT. It's not rocket science, but when you try to do both of what I just typed, you're just asking for trouble, because it's clear you didn't have the guts to just go in and Occupy the Country as an invader and not some liberating BS.

I could respect either or, but not some half-assed attempt to think that people who have lived under Saddam are going to be fooled by US BS, like it's any different then Saddam's US TRAINED BS. Gimme a break, have some respect that they can tell when someone is trying to get over on them.

With that said, I don't know what country you live in, but stop putting foolish talk of betraying it on the Internet and find a way to fix the problem. Piece of advice; People who would betray their own country, never can be trusted, especially if they were too cowardly to go out on the streets and try to do something about it.

I've made my feelings well known about the War, I'm sure if I was someone "important" I'd be good enough to be on the Idiot-box, but since I ain't, I'm not and that's fine by me. Now, as far as the Japanese Entertainment Industry, I've pasted this article that gives a little insight into some of the misconceptions that use to be tossed around daily on how Hollywood Actresses and Actors are lazy or WHATEVER, I said it before and I'll say it again, both Japan and the US steal each others ideas, but the bottom line is in the US YOU can at least enjoy what the hell you do and really make a living out of it, hell you can even make a life out of it, Japan...it's not impossible because it isn't, plenty of Japanese Actors and Actresses have enjoyed tremendous success, but for some, for too many? Sometimes their "success" isn't exactly in the best interest of their own Agency and that's what I take exception to and I've stated it before.

Sometimes things fall into the hands of others who have wayyyyyyy too much say.

It's amazing that, no matter where you go, if you can't make enough money to pay for the things that you need or want to do, then you aren't going anywhere and you aren't doing ANYTHING. Enjoy the article, I'll post this for starters;
Later


Japan's wacky world of celebrities

By Chris Betros
TOKYO They are everywhere on TV variety shows, in dramas, singing at concerts, endorsing products on billboards and in commercials, attending glittery events. No matter what channel you watch or which magazine you read, you'll see the same faces Aya Ueto, SMAP, Yuko Takeuchi, Ayumi Hamasaki, Yukie Nakama, Becky, Kyoko Hasegawa, Papaya Suzuki and countless more.
The "talent" business in Japan is very different from the West. Someone like 19-year-old Ueto, for example, would seem to be making a fortune. After all, she is the TV commercial queen, a movie star, as well as a regular at promotional events. Yet she is just an employee of her agency, Oscar Promotion. She is paid a wage and a percentage of what Oscar negotiates with its clients the opposite of the U.S. where the stars pay their agents a percentage.
The production companies recruit their stars at a young age, train them and then supply them to the media, movies and events. When a new TV show or product endorsement is announced, the media get faxed invitations to the press conference which they dutifully attend. The photos are then used to fill the tabloid magazines, while the TV variety shows replay the same footage four or five times on each segment.
"It's like a revolving sushi restaurant or a UFO Catcher at a game center: there is a never-ending selection to pick from," says Dave Spector, an American who has been a commentator on TV variety shows in Japan for 20 years.
Japan's entertainment world is a tightly knit relationship between the powerful production agencies and the media. Companies like Oscar, Johnny's Jimusho, Sun Music and Yellow Cab have tremendous power when it comes to their talents, so much so that very few newspapers, magazines or TV stations dare carry negative stories. "The production companies are money-making machines," says Tario Cham, who has operated the website jpop.com since 1996. "They work very hard to create an image that sells but also work very hard to protect that image."
Thousands want to join Johnny's Jimusho
Johnny's receives thousands of applications from wannabes every year. Boys in their pre-teens join the Johnny's empire as Johnny's Juniors, and receive dancing and singing lessons. At first, they appear as background extras on variety shows, where their role is to laugh at the jokes of the A-team. The five-member group SMAP is probably the company's most successful "product."
At Oscar, which has more 3,500 members, the emphasis is on girls. "Each year we hold a contest for the Bishojo 31 Club, attracting more than 100,000 applicants aged between 10 and 19," says Ichiro Imai, general manager of Oscar's publicity division. "The lucky 31 get lessons in dancing, acting, modeling, styling, manners and Japanese culture." Ueto and Ryoko Yonekura are two well-known graduates of the Bishojo Club.
But how talented are the talento? "In many cases there is no talent evident," says Spector. "The Japanese enjoy the freshness of unjaded greenhorns and derive pleasure in watching them mature into more qualified personalities, whereas in the West, there is little patience for unpolished apples. Performers are expected to hit the ground running ... or look for another line of work."
Of course, it depends on how a talent is being marketed. "SMAP was originally sold as a 'boarder band, in imitation of another Johnny's group, Hikaru Genji, who were roller skaters," says Mark Schilling, author of "The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture."
"Vocally, they may have been crap, but at least they could skateboard. Then they learned basketball, cooking, wine, etc. I have no doubt they served excellent meals on SMAP X SMAP. With the girls, the ones who make it tend to have something going for them besides a cute smile. Both Namie Amuro and Ayumi Hamasaki were serious fashionistas whose ever-changing looks had a huge impact on their teen fans. On the other hand, Morning Musume was no overnight success; the first cohort had to sweat through episode after episode of a TV reality show before they were anointed as 'stars.'"
Agencies decide who goes on TV
Once the stars are groomed, they are farmed out to variety shows. "The production companies basically dictate to the networks who to use," says Spector. "The TV stations allow this because they also are given use of top talents in exchange for the B or C list. This contrasts, for example, with most talk shows in the West where one-on-one interviews are the norm. Sanma's popular talk show on NTV 'Odoro Sanma Goten' has as many as 15 people talking at once with Sanma at the helm. Viewers are used to seeing superfluous guests; completely uninteresting types become so familiar that after many years they morph into passable if not talented fixtures on TV."
With TV dramas, the stars usually do one 12-episode season and then move on. Very few series last more than one season. "Many of the young stars are idol/actor hybrids," says jpop.com's Cham. "You can find many Johnny's members every season acting in different dramas, like 'Gokusen 2.' You can imagine how many Johnny's fans tune in just to see them."
However, salary is not linked to a show's ratings. Networks classify all actors in pay categories, ranging from 3 million yen an episode, then 2 million yen, 1.5 million yen, and so on down to 800,000 yen. Yukie Nakama, currently Japan's most popular actress thanks to her starring role in "Gokusen," is in the 2 million yen bracket, even though her show garnered a whopping 30% rating for its finale last month. Contrast that with the millions of dollars the cast of "Friends" were paid per episode.
Equally important for the stars are TV commercials. Ueto leads with 18 contracts, according to Video Research House. Actress Hasegawa is second with 8. Other stars in demand for ads are Hamasaki and actress Yu Yamada, 20, who represents Vodafone.
"We chose Yamada because she has a special affinity with youth," said a Vodafone spokesperson. "In our ads, we don't think it's desirable to have a celebrity that is too distant from customers but, at the same time, we like to have someone that people can aspire to. 'Joie de vivre' and 'positive' are key elements of our brand image and Yamada is a perfect fit in this sense."
Commercials can be the launching pad for an idol. "In America, you'd never see the cute girl in the Juicy Fruit chewing gum ad become an idol," says Cham. "But in Japan, it's where many idol careers are born. For example, Mayumi Ono, a relatively unknown gravure (semi-porn) idol, shot to stardom in the ACOM commercials as the pretty face who helped put youngsters into debt with loans and financing from ACOM. In America, they don't do that kind of marketing. While Britney Spears has her own perfume, you don't see her management signing her up to endorse every product left and right.
"Another difference in marketing tactics is exposure. If Hamasaki comes out with a new single, it will be all over the airwaves, which is probably similar to what would happen in the US. However, in Japan, you'll also see the artist appear on every music TV show every night on a different channel to perform the new song."
Big money for showing up at events
Event appearances are also big money spinners. The agencies charge up to 2 million yen for their elegantly dressed stars to show up at gala occasions for an hour or two. Some launches for fashion brands like Gucci and Cartier require the celebrity to have good taste in fashion. One regular guest at this kind of event is Uno Kanda, 31, who confesses to being a brand-name shopaholic.
"These activities are more like part-time jobs," said a production agency spokesperson. "Even publicity events, such as serving as an honorary policewoman for a day bring good money." Ueto, Aya Matsuura and Rei Kikukawa have done a lot of honorary work. The in-demand Ueto also threw out the opening pitch for the baseball season opener last week.
Having a celebrity walk the red carpet at a movie premiere is another revenue source. Not only that, when Hollywood stars visit Japan, the movie distributors often hire an attractive celebrity to present them with flowers at the news conference or premiere because it generates enormous publicity. A spokesman for one distributor said that the Kano sisters once got 500,000 yen each just for talking about the movie in front of the cameras.
'Cute' factor no longer enough
On the other side of the spectrum, what kind of fans drive the business? Are they all pre-pubescent teens screaming for the "cute" factor? Not necessarily, says Schilling. "There are girl idols whose core fans seem to be socially immature guys or pervy middle-aged men (the target market for the gravure photo magazines), but the ones who make it big also have to appeal to their own sex, who are less easily impressed by 'cute.' They have to dance, dress and otherwise present themselves as 'cool' people worthy of emulation."
"Older" stars have a following, too, among them, actresses Naomi Kawashima, 41, and Hitomi Kuroki, 44. Kuroki, especially, has remained a darling of the public for ages. Two years ago, the National Tax Agency used her as its poster girl. Within a week of the posters being put up, nearly 320,000 were ripped off. Others, like Seiko Matsuda and Rie Miyazawa have had all flourishing, though occasionally bumpy careers after their idol days ended, says Schilling.
"However, the era of the 'kokumin-teki' (national) idol has pretty much passed," he says. "Where is the Sayuri Yoshinaga of today i.e., an idol who is everyone's dream sister, daughter, teen girlfriend? Who exemplifies all the commonly perceived virtues of Japanese womanhood purity, cheerfulness, long-suffering endurance?"
A star's "shelf life" may depend on how scandal-free they remain. "We try to teach our talents things like how to hold their alcohol, how to spend money wisely," says Oscar's Imai. "You never know when a photographer is lurking, so we tell them to be careful where they go and who they are with."
But sometimes the inevitable scandal erupts, and here, too, notes Schilling, it is interesting to see the difference between Japan and the U.S. "Japan has a culture of shame, so that when a talent punches out a cab driver or knocks the hat off a cop in a drunken rage, they have to practice 'jishuku' (self restraint), which starts with the public apology and continues with the self-imposed break from public appearances. The U.S. practice is to deny, spin and, when all else fails, try rehab, get religion or go to prison. Then, when you get out, publish a tell-all book and reap the rewards of being a repented sinner. Japan is harsher that way: You get no points for finding Jesus here."
April 3, 2005

The article is from April 3, 2005

It is dated at the very end of it. I know the post was long, but it's information that actually shows WHY the Japanese Idols have to be so DIVERSE, they actually DON'T have a choice in the matter. What bothers me is that somehow that information was UNIMPORTANT.

From what I'm understanding she got a lot of good screen time in Great Yokai and I hope that Takashi Miike casts her in his next film too. Last I heard she finished shooting a horror movie at the end of April this year, bottom line. I've since found out that I've got some talent and I'm not gonna sit on the sidelines and hope and dream when I've learned that I can actually make my dreams come true.
Later!

If you're looking to become a Japanese citizen and you are Non-Japanese you better get a move on. Read it and weep and wow they even go after the "foreign nationals"

Japan mulls limiting foreign residents to 3 percent of population

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Japan mulls limiting foreign residents to 3 percent of population
A Justice Ministry panel studying an overhaul of Japan''s immigration administration is set to propose that the proportion of foreign residents to the nation''s population should be kept at 3 pct or below, Senior Vice Justice Minister Taro Kono said Tuesday.
The proposal will be included in a draft package of immigration policy reform measures to be drawn up shortly, Kono, who heads the panel, told a press conference.
According to the ministry, foreign residents accounted for 1.2 pct of Japan''s population at the end of 2005.
By contrast, the proportion stood at 8.9 pct in Germany in 2001, at 11.1 pct in the United States in the same year and at 5.6 pct in France in 1999.
The panel is also considering requiring foreign nationals of Japanese ancestry to be fluent in Japanese and have regular jobs as conditions for their residency in Japan, Kono said.
Such people are currently allowed to live in Japan if they have relatives in the country.
The panel now believes it necessary to toughen the criteria because the number of problems caused by such residents has been increasing. (Jiji Press)
May 31, 2006

The number of "problems caused by such residents has been increasing." Ouch. So 1.2% of the population has caused such an uproar that 1.8% of an increase should be the limit? I still don't understand why they attacked the foreign nationals? Can anybody explain that?